Air Kingdom

Chapter 25-Betrayal

Darkness enveloped us as we tumbled and toppled down the endless passage of dirt. Once in a while, I would bang my head against Emily, which would result in both us wincing from the impact.

After what seemed like an eternity, we reached the bottom of the pit or I as would like to say, collapsed on the bottom. Luckily, I had an Airian to break my fall, and it wasn't Emily.

"Gah!" I yelled, landing on top of a boy. Emily collapsed on the spot beside me, rubbing her head but making no sound of pain. She was probably mentally screaming and raging in her head.

I quickly got up to examine the damage I've done. The Airian on the ground was a boy with sandy blond hair and emerald green eyes. He looked my age and very cute, but not my type. He groaned in pain and tried to get up.

All Airians, Krey, and Wizards could identify the difference between each race. Wizards had a charismatic aura that we could sense. You could still feel a hint of magic around other Airians, but not as much as Wizards. The Krey was difficult to tell apart based on their physical appearance. The only noticeable thing that set them apart from the rest of us was their eyes. Also the menacing aura of death that seemed to haunt every single one of them. It signaled that they weren't among the living anymore.

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry! Are you alright?" I asked, concern seeping into my contrite voice. His right arm was bent at an unnatural position, and he would moan every time he moved it.

"Ow," He said, managing to talk in actual words. "I think you broke my arm."

"I'm so sorry!" I repeated again, but a bit more frantic. "I know someone who can fix this. Emily, can you heal him?!"

She was leaning against the rocky wall, brushing the dirt off of her fluffy jacket. She nodded curtly not making eye contact with me. She walked over to the Airian and started to heal him with the power of her weapon.

Slowly, his arm straightened and moved back into place. He looked elated and pleasant from the high of Emily's healing. When she moved back, his face was distraught from the loss of endorphins, but he shook off the drug-related effects and begun talking in words of thanks, not pain.

"Thanks for fixing my arm. My name is Liam." He said, looking at Emily, who for some reason had her hands on her head, rubbing it like she was trying to soothe it. She was rocking back and forth with her eyes squeezed tightly together.

I walked over to her and hesitantly rested my hand on her narrow shoulder. "Emily, what's wrong?"

She muttered something too imperceptible for my ears to pick up. Thankfully, Liam was close enough to hear her. "She said that she had a headache." He explained as if he knew everything in the world.

Emily often had vivid and intense flashbacks of her past. That resulted in many trips to the infirmary that Seiro insisted on joining. It was very painful and Emily couldn't talk or move much during those periods of agony. I sighed and got up. It was about time we got out of this dirt hole.

"Hey Liam," I said, looking up at the hole we fell through. "Can you help the two-" My words trailed off as I blinked my eyes in disbelief.

The hole was gone. And I mean gone. The tunnel that deposited us into this underground cave, was nowhere to be seen. Was I imagining it?

"What just happened?" I demanded, glaring Liam down. He had a funny expression on his face. 

"This whole place-" He gestured to the dark tunnels behind him. "-are enchanted. My father, a wizard that used to live here, could control the Earth to his power. Even though he isn't still here today, the enchantments still remain. Sometimes secret passageways would appear or entrances would suddenly open up. That's why we keep tarps up on the surface. It shows where recent tunnels have popped up."